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Writer's pictureSofiya Pasternack

Your TOP FIVE Burning Author Questions Answered

I love FAQs!


I like to think of myself as an approachable person. And I guess I must be, because I get asked a lot of questions about writing very often! I love answering them, and I noticed that I get a cluster of the same questions over and over again from newer authors.

 
 

So I thought it would be helpful to answer those common questions here, just in case any of you have these same burning questions smoking up your brain!


These are the top 5 questions asked!

 

How Do You Stay Motivated to Write?

I don’t. Because

MOTIVATION ISN’T REAL

Okay, it’s real. Kinda. But it’s not something I rely on, because if I relied on motivation to get stuff done, I’d… never get anything done. The key to motivation is to learn how to accomplish things without it.


I wrote a whole blog post about this, so go check that out to find out my in-depth answer to this!

 

How Do You Get Past Writer’s Block?

Ugh writer's block is the worst!

There are a lot of articles out there that say something like "writer's block is fake!" and then immediately launch into 10 ways to fix it. Ten ways to fix your imaginary problem. We have a word for that in psychology, and that word is

I think first we need to define what writer's block even is.

Okay, that's what Oxford says, and they probably know something about something, right? But I'm super into diagnostics, and I like to have lists of symptoms to choose from, like the DSM-5. So what would my DSM-5 entry for writer's block look like? I propose the following:


WRITER'S BLOCK

Being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing for at least 3 consecutive days with at least 4 of the following symptoms that cause clinically significant impairment in creative functioning; one of these criteria must be #1:

  1. Inability to put words on the page

  2. Lack of interest in current plot or literary devices, such as symbolism or metaphors

  3. Use of distraction methods such as cleaning the refrigerator or aerating the lawn

  4. Animosity at current characters; a dislike of an imaginary person

  5. A sensation of "delicious diligent indolence" (Keats, 1819)

  6. The certainty that one's writing is bad, boring, stupid, or all of the above, even in the absence of any kind of confirmation that this is the case

  7. Creative exhaustion; a feeling that ideas have "dried up"

Writer's Block should not confused with Blank Page Anxiety (anxiety specifically incited by the sight of a blank page) or Unworkable Plot Disorder (the author's realization that their plot isn't workable for some reason, but the inability or unwillingness to change it), although there is significant comorbidity between these three diagnoses.


As you can see, writer's block is indeed a real thing, so next time someone says it isn't, you can trot out this list and say, "A REAL PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSIONAL PERSON MADE THIS UP SO THERE."


Something that aggravates me to no end are the people who, when speaking of things like depression (Major Depressive Disorder) and anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder), say things like, "Those aren't even real. You just need to eat vegetables and go outside and you'll be cured."


I want to push these people off a curb. They won't get hurt, but they'll have a little moment of "OHNOI'MFALLING" and then when they stagger to their feet, I'll point at them and say, "Quit being a dismissive shitweasel."


But here's the thing: eating vegetables and going outside will help depression and anxiety. Not cure them. But help. Part of my treatment of patients with MDD and GAD is to nag them to make better lifestyle choices: exercise, diet, social connection, and cutting down on things like sugar, alcohol, tobacco, and other substances.


The thing about depression is that it very, very often involves anhedonia, or the complete loss of interest in anything, even the things you used to love to do. So when I say, "hey you should go for a walk," someone with MDD is like "I can't even do things I love to do, why would I go for a walk?"


Because... it helps. That's why.


Similarly, the treatments for writer's block is something that seems impossible while you're in the throes of it, but will absolutely help: just write.


And you, the writer who is paralyzed by their writer's block, says, "I can't even drum up excitement for my cool story about witch gremlins, why would I write down words I know are going to be terrible and bad and no good?"


Because... it helps. That's why.


Writing--any kind of creative endeavor, really--is an emotionally taxing process. And what are some surefire ways to refill your emotional tank? Go for a walk. Eat some vegetables. Talk to a writing friend. Dial back your caffeine intake. Do some mindfulness.


Take care of your brain, and your brain will take care of you.

 

How Do You Come Up With Book Plots/Ideas?

There's an exercise I learned about oh-so-many years ago called The Paperclip Test.

Not this paperclip.

In 2011, some guy came up with a way to measure someone's metacognition, or their ability to think about thinking. On a neuro level, metacognition is wild. Thinking... about thinking. That takes some serious creative chops. And any kind of creativity requires a higher level of brain functioning. That's why scientists get so excited when nonhuman animals use tools: they're being creative, and creativity (the ability to imagine something that doesn't exist) is a huge cognitive step forward.

As humans, we take creativity for granted, because all of us do it. Some people are more creative than others, but all humans are capable of creativity in some way. Have you ever gotten into an imaginary argument with that coworker who always microwaves fish in the break room, wherein you totally own them and everyone in the office thinks you're awesome now? That's being creative, because that event isn't happening. It might never happen. But you have created it inside your head. And not to get too philosophical and pretentious, but if you've created it even on a neural level, doesn't it... kind of exist now?


You have created something out of nothing .


B o n k e r s.